Week 3 - Picture perfect!

Well, I haven't tried Flickr yet, but I was able to post pictures from my computer and other sources. Here's a picture of Bruce Springsteen who is my favorite rock musician. Next is a picture of me getting an autographed copy of Amy Tan's book The Opposite of Fate: a Book of Musings in January 2005. The problem that I am having with this part is that the text will not wrap around the pictures in the way that I want it to. I know how to solve that problem in Publisher when I create a flyer, but not here. On to Flickr...

Week 1 continued - 7 1/2 habits

I'm supposed to comment on which of these habits will be the hardest/easiest for me. The easiest is to accept responsibility for my own learning. I was an elementary teacher from 1989-1996. I earned an English Lit degree in 1984, but I had to go back to school to get my teacher certification. More recently, I went back to school again from 2001-2004 to get my MLIS. I believe that people should continually try to improve themselves through education in the classroom or through other venues. Each person has a responsibility to herself/himself to engage in lifelong learning. It benefits the individual as well as society.

The hardest thing is to view problems as challenges. Problems are problems. I don't understand the need to sugar coat them, put a positive spin on them, etc. I call them lots of things -- most of which I can't say here -- but I don't call them challenges. I really dislike the whole "let's rename things so they don't sound as bad" trend. This is why I don't read self help books. It's not that I don't need help, it's just that those type of cutesy sayings annoy me. For example, "don't sweat the small stuff." Hello! It's the small stuff that drives all of us up the wall because there's no end to it. Chekov said, "Any idiot can handle a crisis—it's this day-to-day living that wears you out." Exactly! I bet the small stuff made him sweat too.

Week 1 - Opportunity Knocks!

First of all, I really enjoyed the Tech Fair. It was such a clever idea. And I'm very excited to have the opportunity to participate in The 23 Things. The offering of such innovative programs is one of the reasons that I chose this library system. I just moved here from Louisiana where I worked in a public library for 10.5 years. My previous library system did not have the staff nor the vision that HCPL has to help me continue to be a lifelong learner. I am thrilled to be at HCPL where I can learn, try new technologies, and improve my skills.